What’s it like to be the wife of a leader who forces you to live in his shadow and ignores your political advice? The President’s Wife answers that question with its feminism-informed biography of former French first lady Bernadette Chirac.

But don’t expect a sober-minded piece of historical revisionism. The film, directed and co-written by Lea Domenach, refuses to take itself too seriously, and it’s clear from the first scene that we shouldn’t, either.

As Bernadette (the legendary Catherine Deneuve) makes her way to a confessional booth for a heart-to-heart with her priest, the church choir informs us that what we’re about to see is based only loosely on reality. In fact, the singers warn us, it’s a “work of fiction.” 

Still, it’s hard not to hope that what follows is least partly true, because it’s a delicious story of self-reinvention and political comeuppance.

“We are Here to awaken from our Illusion of Separateness” Thich Nhat Hanh

[I have not posted much last week as I was traveling in protected areas in
Jordan to learn and collaborate on issues of conservation. Please excuse
the length of this but you can open links you like]

All Palestinian are saddened by the death of Pope Francis. He spoke
repeatedly against the ongoing genocide and destructionof our people and wa
attaked for this by te Zionist movement. He kept touch with the church
inGaza regularly even from his hospital bed. He cared for people regardless
of their religion and made peace a key feature of his tenure. He built
respectful and good relations between people of all faiths in a time when
right wing white fascists are taking control of governments around the
world (Orban, Netanyahu, Trump etc). We at Bethlehem University are also
especially sad because of the fact that this university was established by
the Vatican to serve the Palestinian people in 1973.

On Palm Sunday Israel bombed a church run hospital with U weapons amd US

Monday, April 21, 6:30-7:30pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

The Amos Project’s Black Women’s Health Initiative (BWHI) will host a special town hall featuring Congresswoman Joyce Beatty on Monday, April 21 at 6:30pm. This important community event aims to address critical health issues affecting Black women in Ohio.

Congresswoman Beatty, a longtime advocate for healthcare equity and women’s health issues, will discuss recent legislative efforts and will answer questions from community members about the ongoing healthcare challenges facing Black women.

“This town hall provides a vital opportunity for direct dialogue between our community and Congresswoman Beatty on health issues that disproportionately impact black women. We encourage all interested community members to attend and participate in the important conversation.” — Joscelyn Clarke, Organizer, The Amos Project

RSVP for this event by using this link.

My rewrite of the famous quote by Lord Palmerston regarding “interests” to have it reflect the reality of Israel and its powerful friends would go something like this: “I say that it is a narrow policy to suppose that Israel is to be marked out as the eternal ally or the perpetual friend of the United States and of enlightened western values. By design, Israel has no eternal allies. Its interests are indeed perpetual but center on its own success at aggressively portraying itself always as the victim while also advancing its own tribal interests.” I admittedly tend to think often about the enemy we of the western Christian tradition have been nurturing at our breast for decades in a spirit of tolerance, a viper that is only setting out to corrupt and then destroy us, manifest particularly at this time of year, when the life and death of Jesus Christ ought to be rightly celebrated. Alas, in today’s Israel what is truly remarkable is the government’s open suppression of Christian identity and worship without any complaint coming from Washington or from the other nominally Christian nations of Europe.